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Finger Prints 



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Commercial and Personal 
Identification ^ 



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INTERNATIONAL TITLE RECORDING 

AND 

IDENTIFICATION BUREAU 

1304-1308 PENOBSCOT BUILDING 
DETROIT .-. MAIN 611 .-. MICHIGAN 



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This Booklet is Compiled 
by 
EDWARD H. AND JAMES E. MURPHY •. 

And is Dedicated to the 

FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF AMERICA 

AND OTHER NATIONS 




January, 1922 



Copyrighted 1°22 

by 

INTERNATIONAL TITLE RECORDING AND 

IDENTIFICATION BUREAU / 

Detroit. Mich. 



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EDWABD II. Ml RI'IIY 



EDWARD H. MURPHY, of the International 
Title Recording and Identification Bureau, 
is a nationally known criminal and civil 
investigator, having heen actively engaged in 
secret service work for the past twenty-two years. 
He is head of the Murphy Secret Service Agency 
which he established in Detroit, Michigan, in 1906. 

Until recently, Mr. Murphy, like a great many 
others in a similar profession, thought of finger 
prints only as a means of identification for the 
criminally inclined. This idea has prevailed 
generally because of the fact that the men to 
whom we owe the present methods of finger print 
identification were, with but few exceptions, 
criminal investigators who, naturally, used the 
results of their study for the furtherance of their own line of work. 

In the United States alone, there are yearly many thousands of unidentified 
dead buried in unmarked graves. If, to this number, we add the thousands 
of missing persons and the hundreds of kidnapped children, the figures would 
total over 100,000 persons. Realizing that this appalling number could be 
reduced to a minimum were finger printing used as a means of personal and 
commercial identification, Mr. Murphy has decided to put the matter before 
the public in a plain, straightforward manner. He feels confident that they 
will readily approve and be anxious to adopt it. 

We do not claim to be the originators of the idea of universal finger printing. 
We would rather have it known that we are simply doing our share toward 
bringing the importance of this movement to the homes and firesides of all 
the people. While we are the originators of many valuable systems of finger 
printing, to be used for commercial purposes, it is not our intention, or desire, 
to burden you with their many intricacies at this time. 



Tli re e 




J 



JAMES E. Ml RI'IIY 



AMES E. MURPHY, of the International 

Title Recording and Identification Bureau, 
was in the service of the United States 
Government continuously from September, 
1913, to November, 1920, at which time he was 
retired to the reserve with a commission of 
Captain. Considerable of his time while in the 
service was an assignment with the M. I. D. 
He has traveled the world over, and has made 
an intensive study of finger prints as a means 
of personal identification. He has made a 
study of the finger impressions of the natives 
of Hawaii, of Northern Luzon, around Bagnio, 
of the Philippine Islands, of the Moros in Jolo. 
in Tientsin, Shanghai, and along the Yangtze 
River. lie discovered that among these tribes 
the arch type of pattern predominated. 

In Pekin, China, he was accorded the privilege of seeing a number of 
finger print records that are in the possession of the royal families. As these 
are closely guarded, it was impossible to make a very thorough study of them. 
He was, however, allowed to examine some thumb prints taken as early as 
100 A. D. These had been placed upon documents to protect the signatures 
of the then ruling Chinese monarchs. The records were in one of the old 
dungeons and were on silken fibre paper. If it were not for the courtesy of 
Ming Loo, a member of the Chinese Secret Service, it would have been 
impossible to see them, . 

When the United States eritered the World War on April 6, 1917, the 
demand for finger print experts was such that the country was combed for 
competent men. As a sufficient number could not be obtained, schools were 
established where special instructions were given so that we would have 
enough competent filers and classifiers to lake care of the finger impressions 
of the millions of men entering the service. That was the supreme test of the 
infallibility of finger printing as a means of identification. How well it 
answered the purpose is a matter of history. 

Knowing the infallibility of finger prints, Mr. Murphy, upon leaving his 
country's service, decided to educate the public to the value of finger prints 
as a means of personal and commercial identification. His initial efforts 
have met with such pronounced success that, by the end of 1922, he expects 
to have the largest private bureau in the world. 



Four 



FINGER prints were used in China over one thousand years ago. The 
ruling monarchs used thumb prints to prevent forgery of important 
documents and to prevent impersonations. Thus, it will be seen thai 
the first use of finger prints was for commercial purposes. It is for us to 
assume that the Chinese did not realize the full value of their discovery. 

We also hear of finger prints having been used for commercial purposes 
by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, but have no authentic record to 
that effect. We, at the present time, give credit to Johannes E. Purkenje, a 
professor of physiology at Rreslau. for the first important step in the develop- 
ment of the finger print science. He, in 1823. planned a system and named 
some of the standard finger print patterns now in use. Had his ideas been 
accepted at that lime, universal finger printing would long ago have been aa 
accepted fact, and millions of missing people, and unidentified dead, would 
have been fully accounted for. 

In 18~)8, Sir William llerscliel. an executive of the British Empire in the 
Hooghly district, Bengal, India, found it necessary, as a means of positive 
identification of the natives entering into contracts with the British Empire, 
to take the impressions of the palms of their hands. This practice he dis- 
continued as it was found that the thumb print alone answered the required 
purpose. 

Realizing the full value of finger prints as a means of identification, he 
tried to induce the British Government to officially adopt and install his ideas 
throughout the Empire. In this he failed, but it was the foundation he had 
laid that opened the way for the investigation as to the value of finger printing, 
subsequently instigated by Sir Francis Galton. 

In 1888. Sir Francis C-alton named three of the standard patterns now in 
use, known as the "Arch," "Loop," and "Whorl." As a result of his study and 
research he succeeded in prevailing upon the British Government to adopt 
finger printing as a subsidiary to the Bertillon system of identification. 
Galton was then 72 years of age. His great fight was to prove the superiority 
of finger prints, as a means of identification, over the Bertillon system of 
measurements, a system devised and perfected by Alphonse Bertillon, a 



Fit 



French anthropologist who, at the age of 29, succeeded in getting the Paris 
Police Department to use his system, which consisted of eleven measurements 
of the human body. So it seems that considerable time and energy was 
wasted in proving the superiority of one system over the other. Had Gabon's 
efforts been made along the lines of educating the people to the value of finger 
prints for personal identification the present public interest in universal finger 
printing would have started at that time. 

Sir E. R. Henry took up the task where Galton left off, and it is to Henry 
that the greatest amount of credit is due for the present perfected method 
of finger print identification; in fact, it is the system perfected by him, and 
bearing his name, that is now universally used. He, like the others, however, 
seemed to realize the value of finger prints only as a means of positive 
identification of criminals, and was justifiably proud, when, in 1901, Bertil- 
lon, in his broadminded way, acknowledged the superiority of the Henry system 
of finger prints over the Bertillon system of measurements. 

The same year when the British Government put its official approval on 
Sir E. R. Henry's ideas, an epoch in finger printing as a means of criminal 
identification was made. From then on its progress has been rapid. But. 
as previously stated, nearly all the study and development has been along the 
line of finger printing and detecting the criminal. 

Perhaps the greatest movement in favor of finger prints as a means of 
identification, was dining the World War, when every one of the millions of 
men entering the service of our country was finger printed. Thus, our 
government set its official seal on the recording of individual finger prints. 
Why? Because it knew the system to be infallible; that it would be 
impossible for two finger prints to be exactly alike; that it would be impos- 
sible to duplicate the record after it was once made. 

Finger printing as a means of identification, was established in the Army 
and Navy Bureaus in Washington, in 1907. These bureaus now contain 
over 5,000.000 finger print records. In the Navy alone, since the installation 
of the finger print system, 11,817 identifications have been made. 



S ix 



Finger Prints of President Harding 



\M-» 7 IS 
NAME 



CLASSIFICATION '% (/ T //_ 

FORMULA ~ £ £, I // 




Harry "H. O iUwU -^ 

Z4XHK. .. . J. lu. Taylor ;•*>'» 

<«i, .,. . .yrelSondberg 



Sei>t.i2/21 



-Sept. 22/21 
. Se pt.Zgjfel 



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The above is a reproduction of the finger prints of President Harding, taken at the 
White House, September 22, 1921. Thus, the President, in his own way, set his official 
approval on universal finger printing. While the impressions are those of a very distin- 
guished man, there is nothing out of the ordinary about them. 



S c v e n 



What Is a Finger Print? 

A FINGER PRINT is a reproduction of the ridge formation on the 
first phalange or nail joint of a finger or a thumb, — the only infallible 
means of identification, as they do not change from birth until 
decomposition sets in after death. In the millions of prints taken to date 
no two have been found to be exactly alike, and, by striking an average 
mathematically, it is easily determined that no two ever will be found exactly 
alike. 

If you will examine the smooth surface or friction skin of the nail joints 
of your fingers you will readily see the ridges of the skin that make up the 
different patterns. Between the ridges will be found the furrows or depres- 
sions. This formation, under a magnifying glass, takes on the appearance of 
a newly plowed field. 

The ridges of the fingers form nine standard types of patterns known as 
Arches, Tented Arches, Exceptional Arches, Loops (Ulnar and Radial). 
Whorls, Central Pocket Loops, Twinned Loops, Lateral Pocket Loops, and 
Accidentals. It can be determined mathematically how often the same type 
of pattern might appear on the fingers of different individuals. It can also 
be determined, in the same manner, how often the same patterns might be 
expected to appear on all corresponding fingers of different persons. But, 
when it is known that each individual print bears from 25 to 100 separate 
points of identification, from the pattern itself, we arrive at figures beyond 
human comprehension that would have to be considered before two prints 
could be found to be exactly alike. 

The ridges of the friction skin serve as a protection to the hands in doing 
manual labor, and to the feet in walking. The ridges contain the openings 
of the sweat ducts that supply the body oil to the skin to keep it soft and 
pliable and to prevent inflammation. We know these things to be true, but 
that does not explain why the (heat Creator of all things saw fit to endow 
humanity with so many different patterns when any one pattern would 



Eight 



answer any purpose so far discovered by science. Until further research is 
made on the subject we shall assume that the Creator placed them there as a 
means of positive identification. 

The ridges on the friction skin of some of the lower animals, such as mon- 
keys, apes, orang-utans, chimpanzees, etc., are so much like those of human 
beings that you would have to see the impressions taken in order to distinguish 
them. In the patterns taken from the lower animals mentioned, the arch 
type averages about 95 per cent. Had Darwin possessed this information to 
corroborate his theory it would have been a wonderful support to him. 

In the early centuries the uncivilized tribes used tattooing as a means of 
identification. This often took on the appearance of the grotesque, and 
very often hideously marked bodies were the result of the various designs and 
markings used by the different tribes. These designs sometimes covered 
the entire body, so that the tribes practicing this means of identification could 
tell at a glance the clan or caste of any native. Thus, the chieftain, the 
warrior, the unchaste, the diseased, and the criminal of the different tribes 
carried certain identification marks of the branding iron and the tattooing 
scalpel all through life. How cruel and crude this was may readily be seen. 
For centuries this was considered a necessity. We very frequently, even in 
this enlightened age, hear of tattooing still being practiced to some extent. 

In writing this booklet we have endeavored to avoid everything bearing 
on the spectacular. We ask you to consider whether or not having the finger 
prints of yourself and loved ones recorded in our bureau, or in your home, 
would prove a measure of protection to you. When we record a registration 
it remains for life. The original cost of this identification insurance is the 
first and only charge made. You are not asked to sign on the dotted line 
and obligate yourself to make yearly payments the rest of your life in order 
to be assured that your identification will remain on file. One of our repre- 
sentatives will call on you after you have had an opportunity to read this 
booklet. He will be courteous to you, and will gladly explain in detail 
everything pertaining to our identification system. In case you are out 



Nine 



when our representative calls, and you desire to be furnished with further 
data, you may fill in and mail the blank form shown on inside back cover. 

We charge $2.00 for each individual registration. This is a lifetime 
record and no further annual or other fee is charged. Should registrant desire 
a pocket identification card as shown on page 1 1, the price is $3.00. This 
includes a beautiful leather case made to our order. 

For the children — and for the grown-ups too, if they desire — we issue a 
souvenir attested finger print record as shown on page 15. This is suitable 
for framing and will last a lifetime. The price of this souvenir record, 
including a lifetime registration in our bureau, is $2.50. 

As stated elsewhere in this booklet, we are the originators of several 
valuable finger print systems for commercial purposes. Some of our ideas 
have been copied. So for your guidance, if you wish your registration to be 
filed with us, be sure your finger impressions are placed on records bearing 
the name, "INTERNATIONAL TITLE RECORDING AND IDENTIFI- 
CATION RUREAU." 

We have the most modern and up-to-date bureau in the country for the 
recording of finger prints for personal and commercial purposes. Should you 
decide to come in and have the registration made at the bureau, instead of at 
your home, bring the kiddies with you. We will be pleased to show you what 
their own pudgy prints, magnified over 2,000 diameters, look like on a moving 
picture screen. 



^ J^ Js. 

We teach the science of 

finger printing in a 

thorough, practical ivay 



Ten 



Finger Prints of Governor Groesbeck 



International Title Recording and identification Bureau 



COMMERCIAL, PERSONAL ANO CRIMINAL IDENTIFICATION 
1304-1308 PENOBSCOT BLDG DETROIT. MICH. 




name HON. ALEX. J. GROESBECK. 


CLASSIFICATION 

5 U 


16. 


no 1009 coLofc WHITE sex KALE. 


17 U 


I 14. 


classipifd bv E.O.STEPHENS. J.E. VURTltY. 


TAKEN BY E. H. 1TJRFHY. 


DATE 12/19/21. 



RIGHT hand 




LEFT HAND 



RIGHT HAND 





. «v ov|ep. 



«££«•• 



Above is a reproduction of the finger prints of the most Democratic 
Governor Michigan has ever had — Hon. Alex. J. Groesbeck. 

These prints were taken at the offices of the International Title Recording 
and Identification Bureau, on December 19. 1921. In this manner the 
Governor wishes to convey to the people of Michigan his approval of Universal 
Finger Printing. 



Eleven 



Finger Prints of James J. Brady 



EDWARD H 



INTERNATIONAL TITLE RECORDING AND IDENTIFICATION BUREAU 

COMMERCIAL. PERSONAL AND CRIMINAL IDENTIFICATION 
"304-1306 PENOBSCOT BLDG . DETROIT. MICH 



name JAMES. J. BRADY. 


CLASSIFICATION 

1 


R I 


I 






I 5. 


no. | 1 .0 color WHITE. sex MALE. 






T 


T 4. 


classififd by E . 0. STEPHENS. J .E. MURPHY. 


TAKFN BY E. H. 


TTURPHY. 




DATE 12/19/21. 



RIGHT HAND 







X 



LEFT HAND 








zz: 



ZZ. 



LEFT HAND 



RIGHT HAND 




The above is a reproduction of the finger prints of James J. Brady, Vice- 
President of the American State Bank, and formerly of the Internal Revenue 
Department. These prints were taken at the offices of the International 
Title Recording and Identification Bureau, on December 19, 1921. If you 
want to know what "Jim" thinks of Universal Finger Printing — just ask him. 



Thirh 




IDENTIFICATION CARD 

The above is a reproduction of our pocket-size identification card. An 
attested card of this nature is invaluable to commercial travelers, business 
men. etc. 1 1 is, in fact, invaluable to any one wishing to be identified. 



Foil rtccn 



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SOUVENIR CARD 

Above is a reproduction of our souvenir finger print record which was 
designed principally for the children. In after years they _ will appreciate 
your foresight and thought fulness in having had this only infallible record 
of their identity made. Adults, also, may be furnished with the same style 
of card, should thev so desire. Actual size of above card is 8x10 inches. 



Fifteen 



SAY MISSING GIRL ONLY 
HIDING TO MISS CLASSES 

KALAMAZOO Nov 23 — Police of- 
ficials bell«ve Miss Hazel P'--' 



POSES AS LOST 
SON, IS JAILED 



Otto Olson Asked Money From 

Boy's Father, Given 7 

Months in Prison. 




DIED UNKNOWN 



Deputy Coroner Says Receiv- 
ing Hospital Sent Inventor 
to Potter's Field. 

FAMILY IS NOT NOTIFIED 



Investigation as to the where- 
abouts of Charlos L. McVey. a Jew- 



GOLD TEETH DISPROVE 
LOST PASTOR THEORY 



Motorman's Wife Says P" 
Not That of Missi- 
May P.* * 



MYSTERY VEILS 
SLAYER OF MAN 
FOUND IN BOG 



Efforts of Police To Learn 
Victim's Name Futile; Cloth- 
ing Changed, Belief. 



DOCTOR APPEALS FOR 
AID TO LOCATE SON 



15-Year-0ld Pupil Missing 
Since Last Week. 



THINK NAKED BABY BOY 
WAS THROWN__FROM AUTO 

CLEVELAND. Nov. 23.— A baby 
boy. suffering with exposure, was 
found on the .driveway near the 

SEARCHES FOR TWINS 
MISSIN G FOR 15 YEARS 

Although 16 years have elapsed 
since he has seen them, Glenn A. 
Ga s s m an, 625 
Warren avenue 
east. Is making a 
hopeful searoh 
for a brother and 
sister, William 
and Mary Gass- 
man, twins, now 
about 20 years 




MAN'S BODY FOUND 
IN ROADSIDE DITCH 

Believed Foreigner; 2 Bullet 
Holes in Head. 



The body of a man. apparently a 

TALENTED GIRL 
SINGER MISSING;) 
KIDNAPED,FEARI 



BOY. FAILING IN EXAMS.. 
IS MISSING SINCE MONDAY 

Fear of parental displeasure be- 
cause he had failed in school ex- 
aminations is believed to be th^ 
reason impelling Bernard Mj»v« 



3 o. 



19 2 1. 



11-YEAR-OLD MISSING; 
POLICE BEGIN SEARCH I 



Mystery Man 
Has Detroit Keys 

FLINT. Mich- Dec. 23.— Flint has 
a mystery man. Ho is young, well 
dressed and refined. 

Found In a street car by the po- 
lice, acting strangely, he is unable 
to gt've any clue aa^to his identity. 
His only possessions are a key and 



NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS 

The above clippings, taken from local papers during the past few weeks 
while this book was being compiled, show a few cases where the necessity of 
finger prints, as a means of personal identification, is brought home to friends 
and loved ones left behind. Many cases of a similar nature are constantly 
being brought Lo your notice through the medium of the press. 



.S i x I r e n 



REMEMBER that your finger prints are 
t recorded with us for personal and 
commercial identification purposes only. 

We also record, clear and prove title on 
personal chattels. 

We act as a Clearing House in recording finger 
prints for Banks, Insurance and Bonding 
Companies, Hotels, Department Stores, Man- 
ufacturers, etc. 

We make attestation on wills and other 
important documents where the validity of a 
signature might be questioned during life, 
or after death. 



w 



teach the science of finger printing 
in a thorough, practical way. 



COUPON 

Without any obligation on my part, have one of your representatives call and explain 
the value of finger prints as a means of personal and commercial identification. 

NAME._... 

ADDRESS..- „ 

CITY _ STATE „ 



(Best time to call) 

Fill this out and mail to the INTERNATIONAL TITLE RECORDING AND 
IDENTIFICATION BUREAU, 1304-1308 Penobscot Building, Detroit, Michigan. 
Telephone Main 611. 



* 









LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



I III II I 

029 714 054 1 • 



Baby Footprints 

The above is a reproduction of the foot prints of a baby girl, five weeks old. 
Positive points of identification are found on the soles of the feet as well as 
on the palms and fingers of the hands. Registration of this kind is intended 
only for infants and is resorted to because of the great difficulty experienced 
in getting their finger impressions. 



N£ 



INTERNATIONAL TITLE RECORDING 

and 

IDENTIFICATION BUREAU 

TELEPHONE MAIN 611 



1304-1308 PENOBSCOT BUILDING 
DETROIT .'. MICHIGAN 



